Automatically-adjustable tensioning device



F. M. PIERCE AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTABLE TENSIONING DEVICE.

APPLTCATION FILED APR.29,' 1920- 1,399,988. I Patented Dec. 13,1921. H

2 SHEETSSHEET I;

F. M. PIERCE.

AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTABLE TENSIONING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1920- 1,399,988, Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- L2 4 v Y /Y 1mm x. rmncn, or cnrcaco, rumors;

AUTOMATICALLY-ADJUSTABLE TENSIONING DEVIGE. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

0 Application filed. April29, 1920. Serial No. 877,583.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, FRANK M. PIERCE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the 'city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Automatically-Adjustable Tensioning Device; and I do hereby declare .that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an automatically adjustable tensioning device which is particularly adapted for use in wrapping and unwrapping machines. In commercial wraping and unwrapping machines the strip of mvesting material is usually wound on a positively driven reel. In order to prevent tearing of the strip of investing material and to insure uniform tension on the strip, it is necessary that a friction drive be provided for said rotatable unwinding reel. Since the tension on the investing strip necessarily varies with variations in the size of the roll of flexible material, it is highly desirable that means be provided for automatically adjusting the friction drive'of the reel to such varying tensions.

It is an important object, therefore, of

this invention to provide a frictionally driven winding reel having means associated therewith whereby said friction drive is automatically adjusted to accommodate varying sizes of a roll of material wound on the reel.

It is also an important object of this invention to provide a reel adapted to have a spool for winding material removably secured thereon and having a friction drive which is automatically adjusted for varying tensions on the strip of material on the reel.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and drawings.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described. I

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a rotatabl tire-unwrapping machine shuttle equipped with the improved reel of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is asection on the line 3-3 of 'mounted on the face plate 1 of the incomplete annular shuttle which is rotatably supported on the incomplete annular frame 2.

Such frame 2 is provided with a horizontal flange 3 as shown in Fig. 2 and said horizontal flange is provided at its outer edge with a vertically projecting rim 4. F langed supporting rollers 5 which are engaged over said vertical projecting rim 1 are mounted on shafts 6 which are journaled between the face plate 1 and the back plate 7, which is rotatably engaged around the horizontal flange 3. Said flanged supporting rollers 5 are driven by belt 8 which in turn is driven from the flanged pulleys 9 and 10 mounted on the drive shafts 11 and 12. Said belt 8 is engaged over idler pulleys 13 and 14 which are supported on said frame 2.

To provide means fortensioning the belt 8 the idler pulley 14 is mounted on the outer end'of the lever 15 which is pivotally supported on the frame 2 at- 16 and the inner end of which is engaged around a threaded rod 17. Engaged on the upper end of said threaded rod 17 is a nut 18 and between the inner end of the lever 15 and said nut 18 is a coiled spring 19 engaged around said rod 17 and the tension on said belt 8'may be adjusted by longitudinally adjusting the nut 18 on the threaded rod 17.

An extension shaft 19 is formed on one of the shafts 6, and the winding reel 20 is rotatably mounted on said extension. 19. Said reel 20 is provided on its inner end with an integral circular plate 21 which is adapted to engage the floating friction disk 22 on the face of a circular plate 23 which is Patented Dec. 13, 1921. i

slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the extension shaft 19 adjacent and inside said plate 21.

Means are provided for longitudinally adjusting the wmding reel 20 on the extension portion 30 in which the shaft 19. A recess is provided in the outer ends of said reel 20 and ball bearings 24 are engaged therein. Engaged on a threaded outer end of the extension shaft 19 is an internall threaded sleeve 25 which is slidable in t e recess in the end of the reel 20. Fixed between the ball bearings 24 and the outer end of the sleeve 25 is a coil spring 26 which rovides a resilient connection between t e sleeve 25 and the winding reel 20. For securing said sleeve 25 in adjusted position a locking plate 27 is provided said. locking plate being engaged over the squared shank of the set screw 28 in the end of the shaft extension 19 and having a' cut-out in 29 in the end of the sleeve 25 is slidab e.

A boss 31 on the reel 19 provides for removably. securing a spool 46 for receiving the unwinding material on saidreel.

To insure positive rotation of the extension shaft .19 at all times the shaft 6 on which said extension shaft is mounted and all of the other shafts 6 are'each provided with a sprocket wheel as shown in Fig.3, and said sprocket" wheels are interconnected by sprocket chain 33 engaged thereover. A ball bearin 34 is slidably mounted in the shaft 19 an adapted to be engaged in a recess on the inner face of the friction plate 23. Means are provided for varying the pressure exerted on said ball bearing 34 and consequently varying the degree of frictional engagement of the plates 21 and 23. For this purpose a forked lever 35 is pivoted on a rounded pin 36 which is secured in the plate 1 and engaged in a recess in the inner side of said lever 35 intermediate the ends thereof. The forked portion of said lever 35 is engaged around the extenis engaged around the guide pin 45 and sesion-shaft 19 adjacent the ball bearings 34 and is provided with pins 37 which are adapted to be'engaged against the inner plate of said ball bearing. he opposite end of lever 35 is loosely engaged around a stub shaft 38 which is removably secured in the plate 1. A coil spring 39 is engaged around said stub shaft 38 between the lever 35. and

' the plate 1 acting normally to hold the lower -integral extension 42 w screw 43 engaged in the outer nd of the stub shaft 38 secures sleeve 40 thereon. In order that rotation of the sleeve 40 will act to rock the lever 35, a cam recess 44 is. propin 45 on the outer end of, said lever 45 is engaged in said recess. Consequently, a rotation of thesleeve 40 by. the arm 41-42 will cause the cam recess 44 to engage the pin 45 and rock the upper end of the lever 35 inwardly or outwardly on the pivot 36 with or against the action of the 0011 spring 39. The rocking of the lever 35 is of course transmitted to the plate 23 through the pins 37 and the ball bearing 34, thus varying the pressure between the plates 21'and 23.

A guide pin 45 is secured on the face plate 1 of the shuttle, as clearly shown lIlFIg. 1, and said guide pin acts to aline the strip of material when 1t is being unwrapped and wound onto the spool 46 onthe reel 19.

The operation i's as follows:

The object to be unwrapped is rotated through the shuttle in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane thereof. The end of the strip of material who unwrapped ,curedon the. spool 46 on the reel 20. The relative rotations of the tire and shuttle will cause the material to be unwrapped from the object and since the reel 20 and the spool 46 are positively rotated, said unwrapped material will be wound on the spool.

" As the size of the roll of material on the spool increases, the arm 41-42 is forced outwardly, and the sleeve 40 is consequently rotated, and the resulting engagement of the cam recess 44 with the rounded'pin 45 on the lever 35 rocks the u per end of said lever inwardly about the plvot 36, whereby the plate 23 engages the plate 21' with increased pressure, thus compensating for the increased tension on the strip of material being unwrapped due to the increasing size of the roll of material on the spool 46.

It will be readily seen that the above described construction provides an automatic adjustment of the frlctional engagement of the plates 21 and 23 in accordance with the varying tension exerted on the strip of material being unwrapped .due' to the increasing size of the roll of material on the spool.

The aboveprocess is substantially reversed during the process of wrapping an object, in which case the resistance of the friction mechanism to' the tension on the stri of material being wrapped is auto- 11!! matlcally adjusted in accordance with variations in the size of the roll of material on the shuttle.

It is, of course, obvious that during the wrapping operation, the tension on the stri of materlal itself will act to rotate the reel: the speed with which it is permitted to retate bein controlled by the automatic mechanism 0 -this invention. 5 I am aware that numerous details-of construction may be. varied through a wide range without departing from the principles vided in the inner end of said sleeve, and. a,

wise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A winding device comprising a shaft, a reel rotatably mounted thereon, a friction plate on the reel, a friction plate slidable but non-rotatable on the shaft adapted to engage said first friction plate, cam-controlled means for varying the frictional engagement of said plates, and a lever for automatically operating said cam controlled means.

2. A winding device comprising a shaft, a reel rotatably mounted thereon and adj ustable longitudinally thereof, a friction plate on the reel, a friction plate slidable but nonrotatable on the shaft and adapted to engage said first friction plate, cam-controlled means for varying the frictional engagement of the plates, and pivoted means for-automatically operating said cam controlled means.

3. A winding device comprising a shaft, a reel rotatably mounted thereon, a friction plate on the reel, a friction plate slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the shaft and adapted to engage said first friction plate, a pivoted lever for moving the second plate longitudinally on the shaft, and a cam for controlling said pivoted lever.

4. A winding device comprising a shaft, a reel rotatably mounted thereon, a friction plate on the reel, a friction plate slidable ut non-rotatable on the shaft and adapted to engage said first friction plate, a s ringpressed lever for adjusting the secon plate longitudinally on the shaft, and cam-operated means for moving the lever against the action of the spring.

5. A winding device comprising a shaft, a

reel rotatably mounted thereon, means resiliently engaging the outer end of the reel for securing said reel on the shaft and adjusting it longitudinally thereof, a friction plate on the reel, a friction plate slidable but nonrotatable on the shaft to engage said first friction plate, and means for varying the frictional engagement-of said plates.

6. A winding device comprising a shaft, a reel rotatably mounted thereon, a friction plate on the reel, a friction plate slidable but" non-rotatable on the shaft and ada ted to engage said first friction plate,-a ba I hearing engaging said second friction plate, and means engaging the ball bearing for automatically varying the frictional engagement of the plate. I

7. A device of the class described comprising a rotatable reel, frictional means for controlling the rotation thereof, a pivoted lever for adjusting said frictional means, and a movable cam for operating said pivoted lever.

8. A winding device of the class described comprising a shaft, a reel on said shaft, and

frictionally driven therefrom, and cam-controlled means separate from the shaft for automaticall adjusting the friction drive for the reel 1n accordance with the size of a roll of material on-the reel.

9. A winding device comprising a shaft,

a reel rotatable thereon, adjusting means for securing'the reel on the shaft, resilient means between said adjusting means and the reel,

a friction drive for the reel, and means for automatically adjusting said friction drive.

10. A device of the class described comprising a reel, automatic friction drive therefor, an adjusting means for saidfriction drive, manual adjusting means therefor,

12. A device of the class described comprising a reel, a friction drive'therefor, a

cam-operated lever for adjusting said fric tion drive, and an anti-friction bearing between said lever and the friction drive.

13. The combination with a rotatable reel having a friction disk secured thereto, of a driven friction disk adapted to engage the friction disk on the reel, and cam-controlled means for automatically varying the pressure of the driven friction disk against the friction disk on the reel.

14. In combination, a reel adapted to have a roll of flexible material wound thereon, a friction drive for said reel, a cam-controlled mechanism for adjusting the friction drive, and means contacting the roll of material on the reel for operating said cam mechanism. f

15. A device of the class described comprising a. shaft, a reel rotatable thereon, a roll of material on the reel, means for con trolling the rotationof the reel in accordance with the size of the reel of material thereon, and a pivotally mounted cam operated mechanism for automatically adjusting said controlling means.

16. A device of the class described com-- prising a shaft, 9. reel rotatable thereon,

means on the. shaft for controllin the rotation of the reel, 9. ivot'ed lever or adjusting said means, an a movable .cam for operating said pivoted lever.

In testimony. whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two sub- 

